I believe strongly, all blame rests upon not Congress nor President Barack Obama, but the entire medical industry that has profited and greedily continued to raise costs so that an average working person can no longer afford medical premiums. How can costs be justified when a high-deductible medical premium for a bare-bones package costs more than a family's monthly mortgage payment and the corporate executives take home huge annual salaries?

So that every American can actually have medical coverage, the country's leaders came up with a plan where the providers charge as much as they want for patient care and the government subsidizes the difference. I do not see where the funds are available to cover these huge costs, hence our present battle in D.C.

Under the proposed new plans where our individual plans are being eliminated entirely by our present provider, our personal premiums will double. If this subsidy does not come to fruition, we, who were paying out of pocket for medical premiums, will be priced out of medical care.

It is discouraging and disheartening that so much destruction and ruin and national suffering is solely based upon greed and done so without guilt.

The medical industry administrators make U.S. bankers look like innocents and saints.

Julie Torres

Stockton

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For Record columnist Michael Fitzgerald to blame a local conservative representative for the health care debacle displays his total ignorance of the issue ("Constituents should call out Denham for defying majority rule," Oct. 2).

The bill was illegally passed by a totally controlled Democrat Senate and House. Thousands of pages were presented for a vote at the last minute and Congress was told to vote on it without proper review. Remember then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's words, "We'll find out what's in the bill after you pass it!"

And right after the Supreme Court upheld the bill, President Barack Obama started changing the rules, illegally, and giving political cronies exemptions.

The bill was supposedly passed to provide uninsured millions, mostly undocumented individuals, with insurance. It turns out that millions of currently insured individuals will lose their coverage. Obama promised cheaper costs and we could maintain current policies.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is the health overhaul program more commonly known as Obamacare is a socialist attempt to enslave all Americans.

Richard A. Shook

Lodi

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The government shutdown does not stop Obamacare. Obamacare has already passed; Congress fights on, but at whose expense? The shutdown only hurts the Americans. When rich people need money, it's a "bailout," but when poor people need money, it's "socialism."

The Republicans represent greedy people. The GOP is willing to sacrifice the country for financial profits. The GOP must stop attacking Obamacare and concentrate on a new budget for the American people.

The only thing the GOP has done so far is make this country weaker. Republicans must stop using the American people as hostages for their own political ideology and work with the president.

Come next election, I will not be voting for the incumbents.

Steven Bojorques

Stockton

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